Florence Fun

For spring break I had the opportunity to visit my friends studying abroad in Florence. I had never been to Italy and the picture I had of it in my mind was a lot different than reality. Walking around the city the streets were crowded and bustling with tourists. Although the city center is where I got to see beautiful sites such as the Duomo and Michaelangelo's David, I began to notice the complete lack of any green spaces, trees, or flowers. Instead of parks they have Piazzas. The streets are so narrow that they can barely fit a sidewalk, let alone trees. Florence has such a rich history that I imagine hundreds of years ago they weren't as concerned with landscaping. 

Now I am not trying to dog on the city completely. Reflecting on my trip I realized that my favorite part of the week was one morning when I walked to Piazza de Michaelangelo on the edge of the city. It was early and no one had awoken yet. As I walked further away from the city center I was surrounded by grasses and trees. For the first time I felt relaxed and was able to breathe in clean air. I spent the next couple hours sitting on steps overlooking the city and exploring the nearby Giardino delle Rose (rose garden). The gardens had beautiful flowers and unique trees I had never seen before. I walked through and observed all the different species of plants and took note of the numerous pollarded trees. One tree, however, caught my attention and stopped me in my tracks. I took a photo and figured out that it is the Cedrus libani 'Pendula' or the Weeping Cedar of Lebanon. 

Although I did not return to the gardens for the remainder of the trip, they stayed on my mind. When I was overwhelmed by the crowds and tight sidewalks I thought about the gardens and how peaceful they felt.